Undercover
by neeeeealll
Summary: The team have to go undercover at a school to investigate an unknown threat. Can they find out what is happening or will they end up killing the children?
1. Chapter 1

*I don't own agents of Shield or the characters. More notes at the end.*

* * *

Skye sat staring at her laptop waiting for Skype to bing at her letting her know that everyone was online. The flat was too quite and even playing music didn't make her feel any better. She was used to the noise of her teammates on the bus, there was always someone around. Or just the bus making noises as it flew them to their next destination. She used to be annoyed by the constant movements and the lack of privacy on the bus, but now living on her own, she realised how much she missed it. It was so easy to just pop over to see Simmons and just have a girly chat. Or just go and annoy her SO. But here in this one bedroomed flat she had all the privacy she could ever want and it was boring.

A bing from her computer alerted her that someone had come online. Checking the screen she smiled when she saw it was Jemma. Clicking she opened up a video chat with her best friend.

"_Hey Skye. Are you bored again? I thought you were excited about living on your own again for a while?" _

Skye smiled at her friend. It was amazing how easily she could read her. She had never really had friends like that before, unless you counted Miles, and Skye definitely didn't. She found she liked it and would miss this if it ever went back to the way it was before.

"_You would be too if you were on your own. At least you have Fitz. I'm stuck here all on my own and its not like I can go out. Which is weird as who doesn't go out? People are going to start thinking I'm strange."_

"_But you are strange Rookie." _ Skye grimaced at Ward as he joined the conversation, obviously overhearing her conversation with Jemma.

"_Robot made a funny. But seriously, people are going to start asking questions if I stay in all the time. Please can I go out? Even if it is just for a meal. I'm going out of my mind here."_

"_When Coulson comes on ask I'll ask him if we can go out. We can catch a movie as well if you like?" _Ward offered.

Skye glanced at Jemma to ensure she had just heard right. Her SO had just agreed to take her out? She knew he had changed since she got shot, seeming to not mind spending more time with her, but she thought he would have enough of her as he was taking her to and from work and saw her at work as well.

Noticing the silence and the glances between the women, Ward stated defensively,

"_He's more likely to let you go if someone is with you. Plus everyone knows that we know each other already so we won't compromise anything." _

That was true. The entire team were currently undercover, pretending to only know each other slightly. They were all currently working at a school, where Shield had detected a threat. They couldn't just send it six new people though so they had all gone in gradually, with May and Coulson going in separately, Fitzsimmons together as they could hardly be separated and it reduced the lies Simmons had to tell. Then Skye and Ward had gone in, in their case they lived separately but in their cover they knew each other, with Ward taking Skye to the school each day. They lived fairly close together as well. It was decided that Skye needed someone close by in case anything went wrong and Ward was the best person for that job. She was still recovering from being shot and this was her first mission back with the team. As they didn't know the exact source of the threat they couldn't know all of the danger so they had decided it was better for Ward to be near, just in case anything happened.

Unfortunately they were still no closer to finding out what the threat was. Many of the kids had high profile parents, some including Shield agents, but there were also the teachers who were experts in their fields who could be target. Or it could be that the school was known for producing some of the greatest minds in the world. There were a lot of targets, which was why they were undercover. Fitzsimmons naturally were science assistants, having been told firmly not to blow anything up. Coulson was teaching politics, which he was good at, but then you would pick up tricks when you are part of a secret organisation that had to deal with various governments. May was teaching history and also ran a self-defence class for anyone who wanted to learn. Ward was teaching English, which he was extremely good at. Skye couldn't help be surprised even though she knew he liked to read and one of his favourite books was Pride and Prejudice. Skye's job was to help Ward as an assistant ensuring he didn't murder any children; she was also the IT assistant, which gave her access to other rooms. While the others could get close to the children and the staff in their departments she could see the school as a whole and go where she liked. So far though, they had come up with nothing.

As they weren't allowed to talk to each other more than saying hello, as they weren't supposed to know each other, they often had these Skype conversations to find out what each member had been up to and if they had found any knew information.

Seeing the rest of the team had come online, Skye turned her thoughts back to the mission and to the job at hand.

"_Sir if it is ok Skye and I have a question to ask you at the end. Its not directly to do with the mission." _Ward began.

"_That's fine. I need to talk to the both of you anyway. Now May would you like to begin. Any knew information?_

* * *

An hour later and the meeting were wrapping up with the team all feeling frustrated. They were no closer to understanding the threat and no one had any new information.

Sighing Coulson drew the meeting to an end, hoping the next time they spoke someone would have found something. Waiting till the rest of the team had signed off her turned to Ward and Skye.

"_So what was it you wanted to ask me?"_

"_Skye is getting bored staying in her flat all the time. I was wondering if it would be all right for us to go out? We were thinking about going to see a movie and grab a meal. As everyone knows we know each other it shouldn't cause any problems."_

Coulson smiled at Skye slightly. He knew she would have a problem staying in the flat all the time and didn't really object to her going out.

"_Actually that fits extremely well with what I was going to talk to you about anyway. The gossip in the staff room is that you are secretly going out. It's now being bet on, with people saying they are going to look to see if they can catch you together. If it is ok with you two I suggest that you do pretend to be going out. It may provide us with new information, as it's a way for everyone to start new conversations. But its up to you two, its your decision. All you would need to do is go out together and spend a bit more time together."_

"_That's fine with me Sir. How about you Rookie?"_

"_If it gets me out of the house then yes. Its fine with me too AC."_

"_Well that is settled then. Enjoy your night out. Try not to go too mad in the mean time Skye."_

* * *

The next morning Skye joined Ward in the car, handing him a coffee, which had become part of their morning ritual.

"_Morning, Robot_."

"_Morning Rookie. You're in a good mood this morning."_

"_Yeah because I can finally escape that flat. So when are we going out. I don't think I can spend much longer all alone in that flat."_

"_Whenever you want. Skye… are you sure you ok with Coulson's plan? With us pretending to date, I mean?"_

"_Yeah. It's fine. Are you ok? Would you rather not pretend to go out with me?" _Skye wasn't sure why but her heart sank at the thought. She wanted him to be ok with this. Secretly she was looking forward to it, not that she was going to let her SO know that.

"_Yeah. I'm fine with it but I didn't want you to be uncomfortable or be forced into anything."_

"_I'm fine Grant. Seriously. But it was sweet that you are concerned."_

Smiling slightly as she saw Ward blush, she grabbed her bag as he pulled the car into the car park. On a whim borne of mischief she reached over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Grinning as she entered the school as realised how much fun she could have with this undercover. She was getting to pretend to be going out with Grant Ward. The man was so hot yet he didn't even know it. They only problem she could see were keeping him from finding out how she really felt about him.

* * *

* So I hope you like it. For anyone that is reading my other story I should hopefully have another chapter up by the end of the weekend. If anyone wants to give me suggestions or prompts please message me on here or find me on tumblr, its the same username. Please review :-) *


	2. Chapter 2

*Once again I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any of the characters. I don't have a beta reader so if there are any mistakes I'm sorry. More notes at the end of the chapter.*

* * *

Skye mingled with the rest of the class, taking care to not make any movements and be spotted. She was on an important mission and being spotted would cause it to be a failure. Some of the kids looked at her strangely but thankfully didn't raise attention to her. Slouching down in her seat at the back, she couldn't help but smile as she saw that she hadn't been noticed. This was going to be good.

It had started earlier when she had entered the office after leaving a dumbstruck Ward. As always there were a list of jobs posted that the rest of the faculty needing doing that day. These were just the basics and often they got called to 'emergency' jobs throughout the day. Often these 'emergency' jobs consisted of a teacher not being able to turn a computer on, however one time it they hadn't even made it as far as the computer, being unable to turn on the lights in the classroom. But never mind it was interesting and gave Skye the ability to go around the school when the rest of the team couldn't. Glancing at the jobs she had been given for the day she couldn't help but smile. She had also noticed her co-worker giving her looks as she picked up the list. She knew why. They had given her a job with her SO, and were clearly waiting to see how she would react to it. She guessed Coulson was right then, they did ship her and her robot. Now that was weird. She had shipped so many people before but never been on the other end of the stick. It was just weird.

Logging on to her computer she pulled up the job for Ward wondering what he could need a tech assistant for. The man hated technology, especially when it came to his books. He refused to buy a tablet, even when she pointed out that he would never run out of books again, he could just download more of them when he had finished. But no, he liked the feeling of a book in his hands. She understood that, but when he was being grumpy because he had nothing left to read, she just wanted to take the book from him and hit him around the head with it. Then she wondered if he would still like the feeling of having an actual book!

But she was getting off topic. What did he need tech for? Reading through the request she could help the smile breaking out on her face. She knew that the rest of the office was watching her but this was just too good. She had to see this. If she went to the classroom now she could beat Ward and hide at the back. There was no way she was going to let him throw her out, and he would if he saw her, she just had to see this.

* * *

Well he hadn't noticed her so far. The lesson was 10 minutes in and he hadn't thrown her out. Which was strange for someone who is a trained observer. Skye was not going to complain though. This was fantastic. Ward was giving a lesson on Pride and Prejudice, which was clearly one of his favourite books. Describing the story he was becoming more and more animated, much to the delight of his class.

"_Do you think the relationship between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth is portrayed accurately sir? I mean he goes from hating her to being completely in love with her. Do you think that is possible?"_ a guy with cute curly hair just in front of Skye asked.

"_Yes I do, Robin. I'm sure that everyone will have had the experience of meeting someone and not liking them based off assumptions you make. Then as you get to know them and understand them you begin to like them. Who is to say that it then can't turn to love?"_

"_Sounds like your speaking from experience sir. Is that how you fell in love?" _Came the voice of a girl at the front of the class, to much up raw from the rest of the class.

"_Settle down." _Ward replied ignoring the question, but couldn't disguise the slight reddening of his cheeks.

In front of Skye Robin whispered to his friend beside him, obviously noticing Ward's blush,

"_Oh yeah. That is definitely what happened to him. Look at his reaction. I wonder who it is."_

"_Anyway. I wanted to show you an adaption of one particular part of the story. This scene does not appear in the book, but I think it shows an interesting perspective on the characters and what they are thinking. At this point Mr Darcy, who is played by Colin Firth, has declared his feelings to Elizabeth and has written the letter to her explaining his actions. He has now headed back to__Pemberley not knowing that Elizabeth is visiting the house with her aunt and uncle. Now watch this scene."_

He then proceeded to show one of the more famous scenes in TV history, where Mr Darcy jumps in the lake and then comes out dripping to bump into Elizabeth.

"_Now the reason I showed you this is because I find it interesting that he is beginning to regret what he has written to Elizabeth here. He has begun to realise that his letter was mean spirited and wished he had not sent it. Adding in this scene, the director wanted to show the change that the character has gone through. He wants to wash away all he had done and come out a new man, acting in a different way. By literally jumping in the lake, he washes away everything he did in the past and becomes a new person. This is then seen when he then meets Elizabeth and her family, acting differently to what Elizabeth is used to, which is then remarked upon later in the book. The reason I showed you this is that I thought this would stick with you more than me just lecturing you on it."_

Laughing the rest of the class murmured their agreement at that. Skye couldn't help but grin at the comment. Who knew Ward would look that in depth into one little scene in a show. It wasn't even mentioned in the book but now he had pointed it out to her she would never be able to watch that part the same way again. He had managed to make her think about things she would try to forget. How she wished she could do the same thing as Mr Darcy and jump in a lake, washing away all her regrets and emerge a different and better person.

"_Have you wanted to do that Sir?" _It was once again the girl at the front from before. Now she was looking at Ward with more respect.

"_Yes I have Jessica unfortunately."_

"_Was it over a girl?"_

"_Actually yes it was. I hadn't behaved very well towards her and I later regretted it. But that is enough about me. I want you all to select a part of the book and make notes on how you would show that in a film or TV show and why." _

Skye sat stunned for a second with that revelation, wondering who the girl could be and feeling a bit jealous. Whoever she was she had to be pretty special to get to Ward like that. Sighing she glanced up checking where he was and wondered if she could sneak out without him noticing her. She had got what she had come for. She could now blackmail him whenever she wanted with the knowledge that he had watched Pride and Prejudice. She had got what she wanted so why did she feel sad?

Standing up she slowly made her way towards the door. Her SO appeared to busy messing with the computer to be paying any attention to her. Just before she reached it, the door opened with the principal Mr Hill walking in. Unfortunately at the exact moment one of the class had decided they were fed up with the book. Throwing it away towards the bin, they hadn't taken into consideration that anyone would be stood in front of it. So instead of dropping into the bin safely it flew straight into Skye as she stood beside the door waiting to be able to leave. It hit her straight in the stomach, which normally wouldn't have been a problem, but she had recently been shot in the stomach and still had the stiches from the wounds. Gasping, the shock of the hit sent her tumbling to the floor.

* * *

"_Skye!" _Cried Ward, completely forgetting that he was supposed to use her cover name when they were in class. Rushing over to her, he quickly started examining her, only just stopping himself from pulling up her top to see if she had torn any stiches. He realised at the last minute that revealing the wounds wouldn't be a good idea, as they would have to explain how she had got them.

"_Are you alright?" _He asked, frantically scanning her face.

Still trying to catch her breath, it was all she could do to nod. The pain was bringing tears to her eyes. There was no way she could speak for a bit without wanting to cry out in pain.

"_Of course she will be alright Mr Johnson. A book only hit Ms Morris. I'm sure it has knocked the wind out of her_ _and may have gotten a bruise. But it is nothing serious. Now whoever threw that is getting a detention. This is why we don't throw things." _

Listening to Mr Hill, Ward had to concede that normally he would be right. But he didn't know that Skye was still recovering from major surgery. Even if she wasn't he would have still reacted the same way. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it her cared about her and hated her to be hurt in anyway. She was his Rookie. He never wanted her to be hurt.

Seeing that there was no way she was going to be able to move anytime soon, he gently placed his arms around her and lifted her from the floor. Striding over his desk he carefully placed her on his chair, watching to make sure that he didn't knock her stomach.

"_Sit there until you get your breath back." _He said for the benefit for all those around who were clearly listening. There was only 5 minutes till the end of the class, then they would have the privacy needed so he could make sure she was all right. God it was going to be a long 5 minutes.

Skye sat still, allowing Ward to finish checking her stiches. As soon as the room was emptied he had lifted her shirt and began checking to make sure she was all right. If only he was as eager to lift her shirt up at other times. He wouldn't even listen to her when she told him that she was ok. Who knew what the class or Mr Hill were going to be saying. Ward had completely lost it when she had got hit. She knew he still blamed himself for her getting shot but she never expected him to react like that. Well there was going to be some more gossip going around the school. Guess them pretending to date was a good thing, otherwise they were going to have to come up with a pretty good explain for Ward's reaction, which would not be easy. So dating it was then.

Having assured himself that she was fine, Ward eventually took a step away from her. She was glad, it was beginning to get very cold having her top rolled up. She was glad to be able to cover herself again.

"_Do you think he did it on purpose?"_

"_What?" _She had no idea what he was talking about.

"_Ryan. The boy who threw the book that hit you. Do you think he threw it deliberately?"_

"_Why would he do that? Why would you think that?"_

"_We are looking for a threat Skye. It could be anyone. Including him. That book hit you exactly where you had been injured."_

"_So? It was just accident. What does hitting me with a book do?"_

"_Finds out your weaknesses. If he were the reason we are here he would want to test people. He may even know about us."_

Standing, Skye walked over to him and placed a hand over his mouth. She didn't want to hear anymore. It was bad enough thinking about people committing the horrible crimes that she had seen while being with Shield, but a kid. She didn't even want to think about it.

* * *

*So there you go. Hope you liked it. The stuff with the teachers came from a personal experience I had but with my lecturers. Very few of them can use the computers and once I had to turn on the lights for them. Thank you to everyone who had reviewed that last chapter. Also thank you to them for some of the ideas in this chapter. I tried to incorporate them in a way that fits where the story is going. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books and I just love the adaption with Colin Firth. The next update may take a little while longer as I'm going away for a bit. Hopefully it will be up sometime next week though. *


	3. Chapter 3

Ward had to admit it wasn't a hard task pretending to be dating Skye. Admittedly initially they hadn't got along but now they were quiet happy to spend time together. In fact he had found himself starting to put time aside to spend with her. She managed to bring out the best in everyone and he found he liked himself more when he was around her. It didn't mean that she didn't still frustrate him. This morning was evidence of that. If he had known she was in the class with him he would have been more careful what he said. That class were smart easily noticing he was talking about a girl. The scene he had caused when she had fallen had probably confirmed to them that it was Skye he had been talking about. He couldn't really deny that anymore, not even to himself. He couldn't believe that he had put the operation at risk. Nobody knew here that Skye had been shot, as it would be too complicated to explain. However, as soon as he had seen her hurt, he had panicked and just reacted. He never panicked. Skye just brought that out him as well. Thankfully she was fine, just sore.

He knew Skye didn't believe him about Ryan. But something didn't seem right about that boy. He just happened to hit Skye where she had been hurt. That didn't seem right. The way he had thrown it was wrong as well. There was no way it was ever going to go into the bin. Skye thought he was being overly suspicious but there was something strange about that boy. He was going to get Coulson to keep a closer eye on him.

But for now he was going to enjoy spending time with Skye. It was rare that they got some alone time that wasn't disturbed by the team. They had already seen Frozen, which Skye had picked and were now heading to a restaurant for a meal. They had bumped into a number of staff and pupils from the school so no doubt it would be around the school that they were dating by the morning. Well Coulson wanted them to pretend to be dating, he was getting his wish. To be fair it probably had been confirmed by his actions this morning. But never mind. Part of him wished this was real though. Although there were no strict rules about dating within the team, he didn't think Coulson would approve. He thought of Skye as his daughter and he held the right to frighten away any boyfriends. He personally didn't want to find out Coulson's plans to terrorise any boys that thought they were good enough for Skye. If he was going to ask her out he was going to make sure Coulson didn't know for a very long time. Not that he knew how to ask her out. He wasn't very good with words and feels, though she was beginning to help him improve. That didn't mean he knew how to ask her if they could do this for real sometime. Normally he would just go and ask one of the team for help, but he wasn't sure how they would react. Plus he liked staying alive. Everyone was very protective of Skye. So for now he was just going to enjoy this fake date. It was all he had for now.

* * *

Ward hummed to himself as he let himself back into the flat he was currently staying in. He had enjoyed tonight. The meal was fun, with Skye being her normal bubbly self. They had decided to have Mexican. She had managed to get the waiter to give them hats to wear, insisting Ward wore his before taking loads of pictures that he knew he would regret later. She would probably use them for blackmail later or just show the team to make them laugh. Probably both actually.

He sighed. He should check the computer to see if there were any new leads in the case. He also wanted to add a note to the rest of the team to keep an eye on Ryan. They had likely heard an account of what happened today, so he should tell them what actually had gone on. Gossip had a way of changing key facts of events. He just didn't want to do it. It would mean going back to work. He had enjoyed not having to think the worst in people. Although tonight was technically part of their undercover it hadn't felt like work. It had felt like relaxing. It made him appreciate that he needed to relax more. Oh well. He made himself a promise to take more time off once this mission was finished, until then work beckoned.

Heading towards his laptop he was surprised to hear his phone ringing. Skye. Funny he had only just dropped her off. Maybe she had left something in the car.

"_Skye?"_

"_Ward! Come quick. Someone has been in my flat!"_

* * *

Ward quickly ran to her flat and entered to see it trashed. Skye was stood near the doorway looking over the mess. Seeing him enter she flung her arms around his neck. Sobbing into his chest she tried to explain what had happened but it was impossible to understand. Rocking her gently Ward glanced around the room taking in another woman who was stood beside the sofa. He was just about to ask who she was when she spoke.

"_I'm Mrs Morse. I live downstairs. I heard the commotion and came up to check on Skye. I came in and found the flat like this and Skye on the floor. She woke up when I came in and insisted on calling you. I've already called the police."_

Ward smiled his thanks at her before turning his attention to the woman in his arms. He didn't know what it was about her but she appeared to attract attention, most of it bad. Brushing her hair away he saw the bump that had been raised on her head. It was nothing serious but it was going to give her one hell of a headache.

Once he was sure she was safe and just shaken he had a better look around the flat. It was clear that the break in was related to the case. The flat had been professionally searched. The only think that was left was Skye's laptop which they had clearly being trying to break the encryption on. Skye had clearly come back in time to catch them attempting that and hence the bump on her head. Coulson was going to have a fit when he heard about this. There was no way Skye was going to be safe on her own. He knew the team was going to insist on moving her once they had been informed. He intended to move her anyway. He wasn't going to let her out of his sight. Until this mission was finished she was staying with him. He could keep her safe if she was with him.

* * *

Ward carefully helped Skye into his flat, noticing how she was shivering. He knew it was just shock but he needed to keep an eye on her. They had stayed at hers until the police had come and taken notes on what had happened. They had secured her flat then headed back here. Skye had wanted to get away from the flat as soon as possible. He couldn't blame her for that. Plus it meant he didn't have to argue with her to get her to stay with him.

"_You should have a shower. It will make you feel better. So will a change of clothes." _Ward told her.

She simply nodded so he escorted her to the bathroom. The flat had two, but he led her to the one in his bedroom, which was nicer. Putting her bag down on the bed he went and switched on the shower so it could warm. He was going to leave her and give her some space when she spoke.

"_Will you stay with me? Please? I don't want to be on my own."_

When he nodded she took his hand and pulled him into the bathroom. He sat on the toilet and turned to face the door so he could give her privacy. He didn't mind staying with her if she didn't want to be on her own. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable while he was there though. When he didn't hear her change he turned slightly, checking she was ok. She was stood just looking at the shower. He muttered her name in question.

"_I don't think I can go in. I don't know why."_

Moving gradually so not to startle her he stood beside her.

"_I'll stay with you." _He promised.

She nodded but made no move to undress. Reaching out he slowly began to undo her shirt, keeping his eyes on his face to ensure that she didn't want him to stop. Once he had removed her top layers of clothing, leaving her just in underwear, he removed his clothes. Once he was in just his boxers he picked her up and carried her into the shower. Holding her under the water, he cautiously washed her hair cleaning away the blood from the bump on her head.

Once she was clean he led her out and wrapped her in a towel. Glancing at her face he saw that she was no more relaxed.

"_Are you all right changing yourself?" _He asked.

"_Yes. Thank you Ward. For everything. I think I'm just going to change and go to bed."_

"_OK. Well good night."_

He watched her slowly walk away before grabbing a towel to dry himself. He hadn't expected to shower with Skye, but she had needed him. He hoped nobody was watching the flat. If the team found out about this he didn't want to have to explain it. It was totally innocent but the team tended to jump to conclusions around Skye. She needed him then. There was no way he was going to take advantage of her when she was vulnerable.

Sighing he decided it was time to go to bed as well.

* * *

It was two in the morning when he woke up having heard a noise. He was reaching for his gun when his bedroom door opened.

"_Ward."_

"_Skye. What's up?"_

"_I'm sorry I couldn't sleep."_

"_It's fine. You just startled me." _

He moved to replace his gun on the table beside his bed. As he did he felt the bed shift as Skye got into it. She moved over to his side before curling up beside him. He reached out and lifted her so she was leaning against his chest. Pressing a soft kiss against her head, he whispered,

"_Go to sleep. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."_

He felt her nod her head against his chest in agreement, before snuggling in closer. He listened to her breathing becoming more regular before allowing sleep to claim him. It was one of the best nights sleep he had ever had.

* * *

* There you go. I know this is very skyeward centric but I wanted to set things up for the next part of the story. The next chapter will show more of what the threat is and why they are undercover. Also Skye and Ward's relationship will continue to develop. Please leave reviews as they make my day *


	4. Chapter 4

Skye woke up hearing a musical noise and buried her head deeper into the pillow.

"_Sorry. I didn't want to wake you but we need to check in with the team. They need to know about what happened yesterday if they already don't. I would have just let you sleep but they will want to see you are ok." _Ward spoke.

Turning she saw him holding his open laptop and two mugs that smelled like coffee.

"_It's OK. Is that coffee?" _She replied.

He smiled at her before replying,

"_Yeah I thought we could do with some. I also thought that we could Skype them from here if that is ok with you?"_

Skye took the mug and nodded her agreement. She could detect a slight nervousness underlying his question. She supposed it was because they had slept in the same bed last night. It wouldn't go down well with the team if they found out about that. Not that she was going to tell them. Everyone would jump to the wrong conclusions and she liked Ward being alive.

She watched as he set up the Skype session before snuggling closer to him. If anyone asked it was so the camera could see them both. That was totally the reason. Glancing up at her SO she wondered how she could thank him for last night. After what he had done a simple thank you wasn't enough. But she would have to think about that later as the rest of the team were online.

The Skype conversation didn't start well with everyone trying to talk at the same time. Skye and Ward just looked at each other. Clearly the team had heard about yesterday. Eventually Coulson stepped in.

"_OK enough. Ward why don't you tell us what happened yesterday, instead of us all trying to talk over the top of each other." _

Ward then proceeded to tell them everything that happened yesterday, including his suspicions about Ryan. The only part he left out was him helping her shower and the fact that they had ended up in the same bed last night. She was grateful about that. She didn't want the team to know how shaken up she had been.

After assuring the team that she was fine and was able to go to work this morning they moved on to talking more about the case. Coulson filled in the rest of the team.

"_So Shield have finally managed to find out exactly what the threat is even if we don't know who is carrying it out. As far as we know it is going to be a cyber attack. It is believed that a message sent will open a video, which seems harmless enough. However, when played the video shows images and noises that overwhelm the senses and if not stopped can lead to death. Unfortunately, we still don't know if someone at school is building this or if someone there is a target. Interestingly enough Ryan who you were talking about earlier has some background in computers. Not only is he a genius but his father also runs a computer company so he could either be the target or the culprit."_

Skye just looked at Ward. She still didn't believe Ryan was to blame but he clearly had issues with him. She glared at him before continuing listening to Coulson.

"_Skye you will need to lead on this as you our computer expert. I'm not happy with you being alone any more so you will stay with Ward from now on understand? We'll just use the fact that you are supposed to be dating to explain that." _

She simply nodded in response. She felt safe with Ward anyway and wasn't going to complain about being closer to him.

"_Good now we need you to put a bug in the system so we can see what is happening at the school."_

"_That's fine AC. But I can't do that without getting caught, I need the school to pretty much be empty or at least nobody on the computers."_

"_That's fine Skye. Fitzsimmons are going to provide a distraction and get the school evacuated."_

"_We get to blow something up?" _Squealed Fitzsimmons at exactly the same time.

Skye felt Ward sigh beside her. She knew what he was thinking. They were both way too eager about that.

"_Only because we need a distraction." _Answered May who had stayed fairly quiet throughout the conversation.

Oh great. They were going to let Fitzsimmons blow something up as a distraction. Skye loved the science twins but at times they were scary. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Skye stood hovering near the science block. They had agreed a time for the distraction, with Fitzsimmons being severely warned to keep the explosion small. They didn't want the bomb squad turning up and complicating matters. She could see them arguing about what chemicals they should use. It was very cute. They were like an old married couple. She always wondered if there was something more going on between them but never wanted to ask. Shield had strange policies about fraternisation that made no sense. Certain people could date and others couldn't. It was strange and hard to understand. She didn't want to ask if they were together unless they were keeping it a secret because they weren't allowed to date. If she asked them and then got them caught she would feel so guilty. So no matter how much she wanted to know she wouldn't ask them. They would make a totally cut couple though. They already had a ship name that they both answered to.

She glanced at her watch. She knew she could only have a short amount of time while the school was evacuating to breech the computer system. Though the team didn't like it she had to do this alone. Ward couldn't stay with her as he was a teacher so had to help with the evacuation. The others weren't supposed to know Skye so if they got caught it would cause more problems than Skye being on her own. That was why she was currently hiding on a staff corridor that was barely used.

Boom! Skye had to give it to Fitzsimmons when they caused a distraction they did a good job. The whole building had shook with the explosion and alarms had started going immediately. She could hear people start to evacuate, with teachers calling out instructions. She gave it a minute before heading into the nearest classroom. She needed to give it enough time to ensure everyone was off the network so they didn't see what she was doing. It wouldn't take her long to plant the bug; she had done this sort of thing before. It felt like she had being doing this her whole life.

She quickly inserted her USB into the computer where she had a saved version of the bug she wanted to upload. Two minutes later and the bug was in place. The team now had access to everyone's computer logs and could see exactly what people were doing on the network. Smiling slightly she left the classroom to head out to the rest of the school to avoid suspicion. The team had nothing to worry about. Computers were easy. It was people that were hard.

* * *

The rest of the day had passed without incident. She explosion was put down to an accident and everyone in the school had gone back to normal. It was now the end of the day and Skye was nearly ready to go home. She only had a few more things to finish before she could leave. She had already bumped into Ward, who had told her he need to do a few things after school so was it ok if he came back to pick her up? She had agreed instantly knowing those few things involved picking up weapons and talking to Coulson about the mission. She would be fine here. It wasn't like she was on her own. She had noticed May hanging around, keeping an eye on her. She could help herself watch Ward move towards his car though. That man was way to handsome. Even if he was scowling at someone. Surprise surprise it was Ryan. He really didn't like him. She watched until he got into his car and began to drive off.

She was so busy thinking about her SO that she didn't notice the person in front of her until she bumped into them.

"_I'm so sorry…. Oh its you, Mrs Morse. I wasn't expecting to see you here."_

"_Not to worry my dear. I suppose you were thinking about that handsome man of yours. I thought you knew I worked here. I'm one of the cleaners."_

Skye hadn't known that which would earn her a lecture from Ward. She was supposed to know about the people that lived around her. She apologised to her again before heading back towards the office. She wanted to finish before Ward got back so they could go straight home.

BANG!

A large explosion coming from the road made her turn quickly. All she could see was a huge fireball approximately where Ward's car should have been.

"_GRANT!"_

* * *

*So there it is. Sorry for leaving it on a cliffhanger. I know I am an evil person. Also I've seen the promo for the next episode and spent the entire day crying and screaming. I cannot wait for the next episode. If anyone else wants to gush about it with me message me on here or on tumblr. My username is the same as here. *


	5. Chapter 5

"_GRANT!"_

May heard the scream and knew immediately it was Skye. She had never hurt a scream so filled with agony. She didn't even think about but ran over to the young woman. Skye has kneeling on the floor looking towards the road. All that could be seen was a fire and the remains of a car. May knew that Ward had just left; she was to watch over Skye discretely while he was gone.

Oh God. Please don't let that be his car. She wanted to go and investigate but knew that the young woman needed her more first.

"_Skye." _

She spoke quietly so she didn't startle the young woman. Slowly she sat beside her on the ground and pulled her into her arms. She didn't think Skye was even aware that she was there. She couldn't think how to comfort the young woman other than rocking her backwards and forwards. She knew that the hacker had feelings for her SO but she hadn't realised how strong they were. God she hoped that wasn't Ward's car. She needed to get answers; it was the only way to help Skye. But she couldn't leave her on her own now. She needed family with her.

Pulling out her phone she scrolled through to the number she needed.

"_I need you by the car park now. I don't care about the undercover, get here now."_

Hanging up she paid attention to the young woman sobbing in her arms. Skye was clinging to her arm, holding it like a life raft. Pulling her closer she pressed a gentle kiss to Skye's head. She could here Skye muttering Grant's name over and over.

"_I will find out what happened Skye I promise. It may not even be Grant's car." _

May tried to talk to Skye but she wasn't even sure she was listening.

Fitzsimmons appeared in front of her, staring in horror at the remains of the car on the road.

"_Look after Skye. We don't know what happened yet. Take her back home until I get back to you. I'm going to go and find out what happened. Stay with her."_

May spoke to both of them as she stood, picking Skye up. She passed her to the science duo, pressing a final kiss to her head. Knowing she had left Skye in good hands, she strode towards the flaming wreck, intent on finding out what had happened. Somebody had hurt her team. She really wanted to hurt someone right now so God help anyone that got in her way.

* * *

Skye still couldn't believe, didn't want to believe it was Grant in the car. But she knew it was his car. It was exactly where his car should be. There was very little traffic on the road. It could only be him.

She began to sob again, unable to stop herself. She was no regretting everything she had never said to him. She wanted him back. She could feel Fitz and Simmons sit on either side of her, trying to comfort her. There wasn't much they could do. They had been with her since they had brought here. She had been able to hear them talking, always in the background. She hadn't been able to concentrate on what they were saying.

She knew they had brought her back to the flat Ward was living in. She could see all the things they had left this morning. They had been in a rush this morning so had left stuff all across the flat. Shirts were on the chairs when they had been discarded after being rejected by Ward. Shoes of hers were scattered over the floor from where she had been searching for her comfortable shoes. DVDs were lying all over the coffee table; they had been trying to decide what to watch tonight. They had both wanted a night in and had decided to have takeaway as well so they could just relax. They were never going to be able to do that.

She heard the door open and close but couldn't face looking up. She knew it was May coming to tell her what she already knew. He was dead.

"_Fitzsimmons."_ Spoke May. She felt them both move from beside her. She obviously wanted to tell her the news without them there. She was surprised when she heard May talk again.

"_Come on Coulson needs us."_

Maybe they needed them to understand what had happened to him. She heard the door shut again. Leaving her on her own. She thought she heard movement in front of her but that must be wishful thinking. She would swear she had just heard him say her name. After everything she had gone through she was now loosing her mind!

"_Skye. Look up at me." _

She was totally loosing her mind. Gentle hands lifted her head so she was looking up. Grant. No it couldn't be him. She moved back against the sofa, as far away as she could.

"_Skye. It's really me. Please Rookie. I'm fine." _

She couldn't believe it was him. He was stood in front of the sofa, sitting back on his heels so he was nearer her height. He began speaking again when he saw she didn't believe him.

"_When we first brought you on the plane I wasn't sure that it would work but you changed my mind. You keep beating me at battleship and tease me about the books I read. You offered me a drink when Coulson's friend attacked the bus. Then you saved my life by stopping me falling out the hole in the bus."_

He was going to continue talking but Skye was now certain it was him. She launched herself off the sofa and on to him. She didn't mean to but she needed to touch him, it allowed her to see he was actually there. She didn't trust her eyes anymore. They had told her she was dead.

Pulling back to see him properly she put her hands on his face. He lent into her touch. She began to trace his face, memorising it. He watched her carefully, allowing her to touch him. She realised what she was doing and pulled back. He reached for her hand, gently kissing it before placing it over his heart. She could feel it beneath her fingers. The final proof he was alive and with her.

She wanted to ask how he survived but couldn't speak right now. It would break the moment. Keeping her eyes on his she gently pressed her other hand against his chest. When he didn't object she began to trace the planes of it.

Reaching up to his shoulder she saw he was for once at her height. She couldn't deny her feelings any longer. She now knew what it felt like to loose him and not have told him about how she felt. Leaning up she pressed her lips to his. He encircled her in his arms pulling her closer.

After a few minutes they broke apart to catch their breath. Smiling slightly at her he moved back slightly and removed his top. Reaching for her hand again he left it just slightly above his chest. Reaching out she closed the distance between them touching his bare skin. Smiling at her he leaned back into kiss her once again.

* * *

I promise the next chapter will explain what happened. I just wanted a sort of happy chapter, especially after the story I wrote earlier and that last episode. I now can't wait until Wednesday (I live in the UK so have to wait till Wednesday morning to watch it). I hope you like protective May.


	6. Chapter 6

Skye and Ward lay on the sofa too tired to move. Their clothes lay on the floor in piles where they had dropped them. Skye was beginning to get cold so snuggled closer to Grant and was glad when he wrapped his arms around her.

"_So are you ever going to explain how you survived?"_

"_Sure. I was going to tell you earlier but you distracted me. I have little things around the car to see if anything has been disturbed, one of them was gone. Then when I got in the car the accelerator felt strange, so I let the car run up to the lights in a slow gear and got out. I then looked under the car with a mirror I keep for stuff like that and saw the bomb. I then moved to safety, as I didn't know when it was going to blow. Thankfully there was nobody around. I then went to hide, as I knew the team would look after you. May found me later and she had made sure I was safe to come out of hiding. She then gave me a lift back here."_

"_You do know I'm not letting you out of my sight till this mission is over?"_

He laughed. "_I was going to say the same to you. It could be hard to explain to the school though."_

"_Leave that to me."_

"_Gladly. Now shall we go to bed? As much as I love lying here with you we should probably get some sleep and the sofa isn't really that comfy."_

Skye grinned mischievously and jumped off Ward and the sofa.

"_You'll have to catch me first."_

Ward simply smiled.

"_Game on." _He replied before chasing after her.

* * *

Ward joined May the next morning after receive a message that she had news for him. He had managed to persuade Skye to stay with Coulson. She had eventually agreed with him that he couldn't get into too much trouble if he was with May.

He had joined her in a computer room in the school before most staff had arrived. She looked angrier than he had ever seen her.

"_Are you all right?" _

He thought he had been quiet when walking in, but he knew by now that trying to sneak up on her just didn't happen. He simply nodded, not used to sharing his feelings with anyone but Skye.

"_I thought it was best to leave you alone with Skye. She was distraught and only seeing you alive was going to make that better."_

"_Thank you for that. It took me a little while to convince her that I was actually alive and she wasn't imagining things."_

He saw May tense at his words, her hands clenching the desk. He knew how she felt. He wasn't too bothered that somebody had tried to kill him, as far as he was concerned it was part of job. What made him angry was the thought of Skye's break down and that she may have been in the car and he might not have been able to protect her.

"_When you go after the person who bombed the car I want in."_

He looked at her questioningly.

"_They tried to take out a member of my team. That does not happen. Plus they made Skye very upset. They need to pay for that."_

He simply nodded before turning to the computer.

"_What did you want to show me?"_

"_This."_

She pulled up some video, which Ward instantly recognised as the car park. He could see the kids leaving which May fast-forwarded through. Stopping just before the time when he got in the car she stopped and paused the video. In it was a very recognisable face. Ryan.

"_Do you think it was him?"_ Coulson asked having come up behind them, while they watched the video. "_Before you ask Skye is fine and is with Fitzsimmons helping them set up some tech experiment for the lesson today."_

"_I just find it suspicious that he was in the area just before the bomb went off. We don't have a clear shot of Ward's car but as he was already on our radar I find it interesting."_ Replied May.

Ward had to agree with her. He knew Skye thought he was being overly distrustful but there was something about that kid. His instincts told him that Ryan was up to something.

"_I agree it is strange. Skye said the only other person in the area was a cleaner. We have found out some more information about Ryan. His father's company is undergoing some problems and has had to lay some people off. Not only that but the family have reduced their spending. Apparently Ryan hasn't taken that too well. We looked more into his background and found that he could be several grades ahead but his parents wanted him to stay with friends. Not only that but he also has the computer skills to pull off the computer virus. I think we are going to have to move him to the top of the suspect list." _Explained Coulson.

Ward agreed with him. Skye might not believe Ryan was bad but then she saw the good in everyone. He loved that about her but it wasn't helpful when trying track down who was targeting them.

* * *

Skye was once again trying to hide at the back of the classroom, though this time it was from the class not Ward. She had to say it was an eye opener. All they were talking about was them. Apparently it somebody had seen Skye going into Ward's house and then not leave till morning. Now all the class were talking about was how much sex they would have had. She couldn't help but blush at the thought of the rest of the team hearing that and think of what they did last night. Oh well what they didn't know was true couldn't hurt them.

Glancing down at her notes she wondered what Ward was going to be teaching them today. Although he was an English teacher he also had to include a little bit of history as background to the books. Today was one of those lessons. She couldn't help choke back a laugh when she read what the lesson was on today. There was no way the class were going to settle down in this class. Oh this was going to be fun!

She watched as Ward brought the class to a beginning and introduced the subject. They were still on Pride and Prejudice but where no talking about the attitudes at the time, including their attitude to sex. When he explained this, the class became a buzz with noise and she caught the look he sent her. Only if you knew him well would you be able to notice his embarrassment. She simply grinned back. There was no way she was getting involved in this one.

Once again the class had decided it was time to embarrass Ward. They had clearly elected a leader, who quickly began asking questions.

"_Sir, what you are basically saying is that it was a lot more hidden. For example today it is perfectly ok for a woman to stay over at a man's house even if they are known to be dating. If they get seen at it is known what they were up to it isn't considered a problem. But back then it would be completely scandalous. Even within marriage it was a taboo subject."_

If Ward noticed the subtle hint towards them he ignored it.

"_Yes, exactly."_

He then went on to explain literature at the time, and how anything mentioning sex was ignored by high society. He then linked it to Victorian times and how prude they were in public but in private they were more adventurous. It was also brought up where they would have sex.

"_Why would anyone want to have sex on a sofa? Any way it happens, it is going to be uncomfortable for someone." _Muttered one girl.

It was clear that Ward had overheard her too by the stunned look on his face and the appealing look he sent to Skye. She simply shook her head and sent him a message straight to his computer in front of him.

**You could always tell them because it is fun and sometimes you just can't get to the bedroom.**

His reaction was priceless, with a sudden flush of colour filling his face. The rest of the class saw his look toward her and turned as one to face her. Smiling she waved at the class before speaking.

"_Hey. I heard in this class you learnt about some good books so I thought I would come and join you. Anything beats lying on a sofa."_

* * *

So here is the next chapter. Hope this explains well enough how Ward escaped. The next chapter will involve more of Fitzsimmons and Intel gathering on Ryan, with a bit more undercover work.


	7. Chapter 7

After an embarrassing couple of lessons Ward was glad to join the rest of the team for a discussion. All of his classes appeared to know that Skye had stayed at his last night and were all making veiled comments about it. Skye apparently was delighted by this, seemingly wanting to make comments that just made things worse. He couldn't believe her comment about making it to the bedroom or lying on the sofa. She just seemed to be out to make him blush. He couldn't decide whether he wanted to kill her or kiss her senseless. He was thinking the second one, but first they needed to find out what was so important with the team.

"_OK. We need to keep this short, as we don't have long to put this plan into motion. I've decided it's time we find out more about Ryan and his family. Luckily for us the family are throwing a party tonight, but Ryan won't be there. I find this strange as the company is struggling. But as Ryan won't be there it enables us to go in and try and find out more information. Skye, Ward you will be going undercover as a couple, you run a company that creates custom made websites for clients. Fitzsimmons you will be going undercover as staff for the part. Simmons try not to lie, and don't make up more stories." _

"_But sir…" _Jemma interrupted Coulson.

"_No. No stories. You are just working the part for some extra money. Both of your jobs are to find a computer room for Skye, as you'll have more freedom of movement. Later in the part you'll create a distraction to allow Skye and Ward time to get into the room and find the information we need. No explosions this time. The local police and fire department are already suspicious we don't want to give them any more opportunity to investigate us. May and I will keep an eye from here and provide back up if it is needed. It's a fancy dress gala so your outfits have been delivered to your houses. Good luck and make sure you keep your coms on."_

* * *

Fitzsimmons arrived at the venue of the party and couldn't help but gasp. It was a beautiful house. The marble entryway gleamed and was surrounded by marble pillars that currently had different coloured satin bows tied around them, forming a lined walkway to a set of open doors. There led through into what clearly was the ballroom. It was currently a flurry of activity with things being set up for later.

Noticing the two scientist gaping at the sites one of the staff moved over to them,

"_Are you some of the staff for tonight?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Good go upstairs first door on your right. Someone there will find a change of clothes for you and tell you what to do tonight."_

Following the direction they found the room mentioned and were given a set of clothes each and pushed into a changing area. Changing they both exited and gawked at what the other was wearing. Fitz was in a traditional butlers outfit including a tailcoat. Simmons had a black dress with a white apron and matching cap for her hair. Both felt like they had gone back in time.

"_Yeah I know they are terrible. However, the master likes the staff to stand out especially when the guests are in fancy dress. It stops embarrassment for the guests." _Spoke the staff member from before noticing their horror at the outfits.

"_We need help setting up so if you would go downstairs straight away." _

An hour later they were finally together again having been separated to carry out jobs. Simmons had been sent to help in the kitchen, while Fitz set up the ballroom.

"_Find anything?"_ He asked.

"_No. This is the first time I've got out of the kitchen. How about you?"_

"_No to a computer but I think I know how to create a distraction."_

At her enquiring look he nodded towards the ballroom. Understanding what he was on about, she objected.

"_Oh Fitz."_

"_I'm sorry. It's the only thing I can think of that won't destroy our cover."_

Thinking this through further Fitz had to agree with Simmons. It was a bad idea. But the only other thing he could do was bump into somebody and spill stuff over them. But that would attract more attention to them than they wanted. It needed to appear something accidental.

Which was why he was now sneaking back into the ballroom, where preparations had been finished. He had thought he had seen something earlier that, if he used a little something he had created, would cause enough of a distraction and get Skye and Ward upstairs. However, since he had being setting up something else had been added to the room. Actually he thought this might actually help. Especially if Skye or Ward are near it.

Grinning he moved quickly, wanting to place the instrument of his plan in place before he got caught. It only took two minutes to place it. When he triggered the machine, it would cause a chain of events to occur that would cause the distraction but still look like an accident.

He quickly hurried back to the kitchen to tell Jemma.

"_I've done it. Had to make a slight change to the plan though."_

"_Good because I've found another problem."_

* * *

Ward was sitting waiting on Skye finishing getting ready. As Coulson had promised their costumes had been delivered to the flat. Skye was extremely happy with this and had squealed in delight when she had seen hers. The theme for tonight was fairy tales and fantasy. Which is why they were going as characters from Disney films. Skye had been delighted when she had found her costume was Mulan's. As she said, she was a kick-ass woman who didn't need any man to save her. Ward had to admit it was very her and matched her personality, like Mulan Skye would do anything to protect her family.

He was going as Captain Li Shang from Mulan. The person that Mulan saved, helped become less awkward and who fell in love with Mulan. Skye said it was perfect for him as Shang was an amazing warrior, who was extremely patriotic but loyal to his soldiers. Ward wondered what exactly had caused Coulson to pick these outfits. He was beginning to suspect that his boss knew his relationship with his rookie had gone past the trainee/trainer stage.

"_What do you think?"_ She queried, moving to stand in front of him.

She was wearing the green dress from the film, with her long brown hair loose down her back. Simple make up completed the look.

"_You look amazing."_

"_You don't look too bad yourself. You should dress up as Disney characters more often." _She teased.

"_Only in your dreams. Here, you need your earpiece."_

"_Oh but my dreams are so much more fun. Plus they involve you in a lot less clothes."_

She grinned at him, taking the offered earpiece before moving towards the door.

"_Are you coming? I think we have a party to attend."_

* * *

"_Ok we are in."_ Reported Ward. The party was in full swing with people wearing a variety of costumes. Some people had hardly done anything for the gala, simply wearing a costume, others had gone all out. He had already passed one guy who was dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow, not only did he had the costume and the hair, but he also had the tattoos and the walk down. It was like Johnny Depp had walked into the gala. He had done a double take to make sure it wasn't Johnny Depp but on closer inspection it was possible to see that the hair was a wig. He was glad of that. If it had actually been the actor, he wasn't sure how we would have stopped Skye fan girling and asking for an autograph.

The room was totally crowded, with people eating, drinking and laughing. One side of the room held several tables filled with food. The centrepiece was an ice sculpture of a butterfly that looked so realistic he thought it was about to take flight. Either side of that were two towers of wineglasses. It was the usual sort of thing that you would see at this sort of thing, but he thought there was something strange about it. He had seen plenty of them when he had been undercover before; this one seemed to be leaning at an odd angle. But it could just be the angle he was standing at.

"_Fitzsimmons do we have a location?"_

"_Yes. Straight upstairs last door on the right. But the stairs are monitored by cameras you can't sneak up there." _Came Fitz's voice in his ear.

"_But don't worry we have a plan to get around that problem, which includes are distraction. You just need to stand close to the food table beside the ice sculpture."_

Both Skye and Ward moved carefully through the crowd to the table pretending to look at the food.

"_We are here." _Reported Ward.

"_Ok distraction coming up soon."_

"_We're sorry Skye." _Piped up Simmons.

Before they could ask what that was about, the crowd had gone silent turning to the couple stood on a raised platform. It was Ryan's parents.

"_Welcome. I'm glad you could all come tonight. Most of you know that my company has being having a tough time of it lately so are probably wondering why I still threw this party. It is because it has always enabled us to raise so much money in the past. Though we are having a rough time we must still remember that there are people who are a lot worse off than we are. We still want to help these people so continued throwing our annual gala so that we can raise more money for those who need it."_

Ryan's father spoke, holding his head high while admitting the problems he was having. It was a brave thing to do. Ward found himself admiring the man, especially as he was doing it to raise money for charity.

Before the speech could continue there was a small smash from behind Ward. He turned in time to see the two wineglass towers begin to tumble. Before he could react, they smashed into the butterfly, sending ice and melted water straight over Skye who was stood in front of it. She let out a squeak in surprise as the water soaked her. Apart from being wet and slightly shock she seemed fine. Ward now knew why Simmons had apologised, guessing this was part of the plan.

All heads in the room turned to them as he checked that no ice was sticking to Skye or had hurt her. By time he had finished his inspection Ryan's mum was in front of them.

"_Oh my dear, are you all right?"_

Skye nodded in shock. Ward put his arm around her, not sure how much was real and how much she was acting.

"_Oh come with me and we'll get you sorted out."_

The crowd parted as they were led from the ballroom to one of the rooms upstairs. Fitzsimmons plan had worked, now just to get rid of their hostess.

"_Do you need anything? Are you hurt?"_

"_No I'm fine thank you. I just need to dry off." _Skye replied smiling faintly at the hovering woman.

"_Ok I'll leave you here to dry off then. Just shout if you need anything. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what happened."_

Ward suspected a certain scientist and some sort of machine he had built but kept his mouth shut. Skye waved off the woman's worries and watched her leave. Once she was gone Skye turned to Ward,

"_Ready? There are no camera's up here." _

"_Sure are you feeling ok? I can imagine it was a bit of a shock."_

"_I'm fine Grant. Let's just get this done before she comes back to check on us."_

He let Skye lead him from the room and to the computer room they had been told about. Once there she pulled out a USB she had hidden down the front of her dress. She quickly copied the entire system onto it. She had decided earlier that they wouldn't have time to go through everything at the party so she would make a copy then go through it later. Once she was done they both re-entered the bedroom from before so Skye could dry her dress. Well so Ward could dry her dress, as she couldn't reach the back of it. They both knew that they wouldn't be able to escape as quickly as they had hoped, as all eyes would now be on them.

"_Come on Robot you owe me a dance."_

* * *

Hope you like this. I had fun writing this part. I thought about having them dress up as Flynn and Rapunzel from Tangled but I loved Mulan more. I liked having Fitz being a bit of an evil genius in this and causing chaos. Let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

"_So what information did we get last night?"_ Coulson inquired.

"_I'm still sorting through some of it, but we have found some interesting information. The company has many projects on the go. Many of them could be what we are looking for, if it weren't for the fact that they were all shut down when the company went into financial trouble. All of the staff on these projects were let go because it was no longer viable to keep them running. A lot of the data is about threats from former staff members. A Mrs Burch who was very vocal against the company, issuing threats, some specifically against Ryan. I wondered if she could be the cause of all of this but I have yet to track her down. She's disappeared entirely." _Reported Skye.

"_You think that the threat may be to Ryan?" _Questioned Ward.

"_I'm still not sure. When I was looking at the files I found that someone had accessed them recently. I tracked the IP address that accessed the files back to Ryan's computer. He could just be snooping or it could be for other reasons."_

"_OK. We'd better gather more information then. Skye, try and plant a bug on him during the lesson. We need to find out more information. It looks like either the threat is coming from Ryan or is going to be against him." _Ordered Coulson.

The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Coulson turned to the scientists.

"_Now we can talk about the distraction you two created last night. When I said cause a distraction I did not mean destroy hundreds of glasses and an ice sculpture. You caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and could have hurt your team."_

"_But Sir, it was the only way we could cause the distraction needed and manage to get Skye and Ward past the cameras on the stairs." _Protested Simmons.

"_I can understand that. Next time give people a little more warning. But you can never use your inventions like that again. I'm well aware of the fact that they hadn't been tested before. It could have gone badly wrong. Please only use inventions that have been tested." _

Coulson looked at the two scientists until he saw their acquisition. Skye moved slightly till she was stood beside Fitz. When Coulson was looking the other way she clipped him around the head.

"_It wasn't tested?"_

"_It was a perfectly sound idea. You were in no danger." _Fitz disputed.

"_That is not the point, Leopold and you know it."_

"_I'm sorry. It was the only thing I could think of to do."_

Putting his hand over Skye's mouth to stop the rant that was about to happen, Ward replied,

"_Next time just give us an idea of what is going to happen."_

* * *

Skye and Ward had agreed on a plan to get her close to Ryan during the lesson. Like most of the schoolchildren he kept his laptop on his desk during lessons. If she got close to him while the lesson was on-going it should be relatively simple to plant the bug. The only problem was going to be explaining her presence in the lesson again. The class wasn't stupid, they were going to think something was up if she was in the lesson again. That meant they had to come up with an excuse.

Today's lesson was on Shakespeare, specifically on Much Ado About Nothing. Although there were lots of adaptions of the play Ward wanted to actually act out the play, with members of the class playing some of the parts. He had already managed to cast some of the parts but no one had wanted to play Beatrice or Benedict. Therefore they agreed that her cover story was that he had asked her to help out and play Beatrice while he played Benedict.

She was sat on the desk watching while Ward got the class ready for the play. Ryan wasn't one of the class playing a part but was in the front row of the watching class. This would make her job easier. The class had voted on which scenes they wanted performed for them, which included the scenes where Beatrice and Benedict overheard others discussing their love. Skye had to wonder how much of that choice was due to the fact that Ward and her were playing those characters. But never mind. The first scene they were acting out didn't involve her so she moved towards the rest of the class. It gave her the perfect opportunity. No one questioned her standing beside Ryan's desk as they all watched the scene before them. Everyone was so busy watching the actors that they didn't see her plant the bug on the laptop. She grinned in triumph.

"_Ok so the next scenes are where the family attempt to set up both Beatrice and Benedict. They knowingly speak of how they are loved by the other while knowingly being overheard. Both already love the other but will not admit it to themselves."_

Skye suddenly became aware of the class's attention being divided between her and Ward. Looked like she was right in her prediction.

* * *

The class was finally over and Skye was relieved it was over. They had done practically every scene with Beatrice and Benedict apart from the end scene. Class had just finished before Ward had to kiss her in front of the class. She liked kissing Ward but she didn't really want to kiss him with 30 sets of eyes watching her.

She was currently sat at his desk watching her laptop that showed the feed from the bug she had planted. Ryan hadn't done anything unusual or that provided any information so far. At least the bug was working.

She felt Ward come up behind her, placing a gently kiss on her neck. Turning towards him she smiled slightly. A knock at the door caused her to shift slightly. Stood there was Mrs Morse, looking into the room slightly awkwardly.

"_I'm sorry to bother you two but I need to clean the room."_

"_That's fine. I'll be back in moment." _Ward opened the room as he directly the last comment at Skye.

"_I hope you don't mind me saying my dear but that is a lovely man. I assume you are staying with him at the moment."_

"_No he is lovely. Yes. I'm sorry I was just afraid after being attacked." _Skye replied cautiously.

"_I totally understand that. I have replaced the locks so if you want to come back it is more secure."_

"_Thank you."_

A beeping drew Skye's attention back to the computer. It was the alert to tell her that Ryan had left the school. If he was planning to do anything it wasn't going to happen here. They might as well move: there was no long any need for them to be here today.

* * *

Once again thank you to Amaya for reading through this. Things will be come clearer in the next chapter. I'm sorry for the slower updates. Hopefully things will be faster now as I'm no longer feeling poorly or trying to finish my dissertation. Thank you for the reviews.


	9. Chapter 9

"_So did everyone get the packages I sent them?"_ Skye questioned, looking at the team on the computer. She had sent them all a package, as she couldn't pass them anything when they were at the school. She had realised that if they were going to face an attack they should probably be prepared. Currently they weren't, so she had gone on a little shopping trip with Ward. They hadn't had exactly what she had wanted so she had to improvise but everything should work.

She watched as the team opened their packages, removing the items with some confusion. Everyone was holding a pair of dark glasses and a pair of earplugs. She had tried to match them to each person, which seemed to confuse the team more. May's were simply black and stylish whereas Coulson was left holding a pair of Captain America glasses. Simmons' had images of the TARDIS, with Fitz's having monkeys on them. She couldn't find any that exactly matched Ward's personality, they didn't have any with books on, therefore she had gone to the other extreme and bought him some bright orange ones. Hers were a matching pair, just in purple.

"_Skye, why are we currently holding novelty glasses and earplugs?"_ Ward asked, looking at the items in horror.

"_I was thinking about the threat we were facing and if it happens how we could stop it. If we try to stop it happening we would also be incapacitated, as our bodies would be overloaded. Therefore, the glasses and earplugs. Glasses stop the light, earplugs block the noise. It won't be effective for very long but they should help us enough to shut down the virus. I had to adapt them all slightly but they should provide some protection."_

"_Good idea. I was wondering how we could cope if the virus is released." _Praised Coulson.

"_Though why did we all get novelty glasses? Surely black would have done the same job."_

"_There weren't enough for everybody and I didn't think it was fair to only make some people wear novelty ones. Plus I wanted to see my SO wear the orange ones."_

Coulson and Fitz quickly tried to prevent themselves laughing at that statement, which wasn't helped by the look Ward was currently giving Skye. Jemma didn't even bother preventing her laughter and even May looked amused at the statement.

"_Ok then. Thanks to Skye we are prepared if the virus goes live. If there's nothing else, I suggest we all enjoy the rest of our evening. Ward, you are not allowed to kill Skye once we have disconnected."_

Coulson looked at the rest of the team for confirmation before signing off. The team quickly signed off after him, wanting to enjoy their free time as much as possible.

"_Seriously, orange? You couldn't have picked any other colour?"_

"_Would you've preferred pink?"_

"_On second thoughts orange is fine. But why did you want to see me in orange?"_

"_All you ever wear is black or white. It's boring. I wanted you to wear some colour for once."_

"_I like simple clothes and colours."_

"_Yes, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of colour. I should have just bought you the pink ones with sparkles on."_

"_Oh, thank god you didn't."_

"_Can't deal with a bit of pink and glitter?"_

"_No but then I would've had nothing to go with them. At least with orange I can match them to my tie."_ Ward grinned at her mischievously.

"_You don't have an orange tie!" _Skye exclaimed.

"_Maybe you just haven't seen it." _He teased back. Moving quickly he stood from the table they had sat at to use the computer before heading towards the bedroom. There was no way he had a tie that colour. Laughing, Skye quickly got up and followed him running into the bedroom before he could shut the door. He was already over by the wardrobe rummaging through it. Still laughing she quickly jumped on his back so she could see into the wardrobe. He wasn't going to hide anything from her.

* * *

"_Everything OK?" _inquired Ward as he placed a cup of coffee down beside her. This morning she was working in his office so as not to draw attention to herself with the class again. Staff were beginning to get suspicious of the time they spent together so it was better for her to stay away from the classroom. Working in his office gave her the privacy she needed to watch Ryan's movements without getting caught, and meant it was easy for Ward to keep in touch with her. As it was currently break time he had come to check in on how she was doing and bring her a much-needed drink.

"_Yeah. Ryan is just acting strange. It currently isn't anything serious but I'm going to keep an eye on it. Thanks for the drink."_

She smiled at him and was surprised to see the frown on his face.

"_Ward?" _

He didn't answer her so she checked on Ryan. He was currently stood out in the yard and as there was still 10 minutes left of the break she doubted he would be moving anywhere quickly. Spinning so she could face him head on she spoke again,

"_Grant? What is wrong?"_

"_I don't want you coming with me when we eventually take down whoever is behind this."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_You said yourself that if the virus is sent it will play noise and light that will injure people. Even with the precautions you have taken it will still hurt anyone near it."_

"_I know that. But why…"_

"_I can't watch you get hurt. Not again. It was bad enough after you got shot. I can't let that happen again. If I was with you the last time I might have prevented you getting shot. I'm not making the same mistake again."_

"_Grant, you can't keep blaming yourself for that. I knew the risks when I went in and I still did it. I'm going with you this time. You need someone who understands computers to disable the virus. Besides two of us are more likely to be able to stop it than just one of us."_

She watched as he took in what she had just said. She knew he was protective; it was one of the things she loved about him. She watched as he became more resigned to the fact she was going. He may want to protect her but he wasn't going to wrap her up in cotton wool. She had known the job was dangerous when she took it.

"_Why did you have such a good argument?" _

"_Because I'm right and you know it." _She smiled and lent in and gave him a gentle kiss.

"_I promise I'll be careful." _She whispered.

He nodded at her before leaning in and pressing another kiss to her lips. Before anything could go any further a bleeping from her computer demanded her attention. Ryan was moving away from the yard and appeared to be heading for the basement. Why would he be going there? He was supposed to have science after the break, Fitzsimmons were going to keep an eye on him. Glancing at Ward who was also looking at her computer, they both headed out of the room and headed in the direction Ryan was going.

Reaching the area where Ryan had headed into Skye quickly hid her laptop and put on the glasses and earplugs. She didn't want to risk anything, especially when Ryan was behaving strangely. Ward had done the same, and he used hand signals to say he was going to enter the door where Ryan had gone through.

Creeping through the door they entered what looked like an ordinary basement, filled with unused desks and computers that the school had. A flashing light drew their attention to an area further down. Staying behind Ward she followed him to the area. The flashing light and noise that filled the room indicated that the virus had been released. Hopefully they could stop it before anyone got hurt.

It was possible to see the computer with the virus on within the flashing lights. It was surrounded by desks pilled up, waiting to be used in the classrooms above. Skye felt Ward freeze and peered around him to see what had caused his reaction.

"_No." _She whispered in shock.

* * *

There is just one more chapter left of this undercover but I am thinking of keeping it going with a new mission. Let me know what you think. Once again big thank you to Amaya for correcting my mistakes. Any left are my fault.


	10. Chapter 10

Skye stared in shock. It wasn't the scene in front of her that surprised her, but who was there. At the computer she could see Ryan, recognisable as his head was leaning back. He was clearly out of it and had a small trickle of blood coming from his nose. He needed help and soon, otherwise he wasn't going to make it out of here. What concerned Skye more was the person who was currently holding a gun on her and Ward. Mr Hill the principal. How was he involved? He was also wearing earplugs and glasses but seemed to be less affected by the noise and light than they were. He had obviously prepared for this situation.

All of a sudden the noise and light cut off. Skye glanced around in confusion before focusing again on the man in front of them. Ward shifted his position slightly to keep his body between them.

"_Drop it." _Ordered Mr Hill. "_Drop it or I start the virus again. You will collapse before I do and then poor Ryan will be dead."_

She saw Ward hesitate for a second before dropping the ICER and kicking it towards the principal. With her hand pressed against his back she could feel his muscles tense and knew he was planning something. Something that was probably stupid and heroic. Mr Hill noticed some small movement and commented:

"_Oh, I wouldn't, Mr Johnson. Or is that even your name? One wrong move, and the lovely lady behind you will be nursing another gunshot injury."_

'What?' thought Skye. 'How does he know I was shot before?'

There was no way from the angle Mr Hill was stood at that he could hit her, not with Ward stood in front of her. Looking around to see where the danger was coming from, she saw the person moving towards them before Ward did. From that angle she would be hit if they shot. Even though she barely knew them she still felt betrayed. Maybe if she reasoned with her she could get them out of this.

"_Mrs Morse. Why are you doing this? Why are you working for him?"_

"_Oh you have got it wrong, dearie. I don't work for him. He works for me. Now put your hands on his sides where I can see them. You put your hands on your head."_

Skye slipped her hands onto Ward's sides while he interlocked his hands on his head. She was still trying to process what she had been told. She didn't understand why this was happening. Mrs Morse had seemed so nice.

Once she was sure that her orders had been obeyed Mrs Morse moved over to take Ryan's pulse.

"_Still alive. Good."_

"_Are you sure about this? Shouldn't we tie them up?"_

"_No Dennis. Bonds can be escaped. This way if he wants to try anything he first has to break out of the girl's hold. It would cost him precious seconds and leave her vulnerable. You've seen them interact. You know he won't do that."_

Skye felt Ward tense knowing that Mrs Morse had hit the nail on the head. There was nothing he could do without the other two having time to react. There were shelves beside them that could provide some cover if shooting started but then Ryan would be left unprotected. Colour was slowly draining from his face making the red of the blood stand out even more. He needed a hospital fast.

"_Why?"_ Skye asked again, needing to understand.

"_Because I can. The world is changing and so are its weapons. Many people will pay millions for what I've created." _Stated Mrs Morse.

"_But why attack Ryan?"_

"_I needed someone to test the weapon on. It provided a fantastic demonstration for my buyers – in fact, they're all bidding now. Besides, it was an opportunity to get revenge."_

Suddenly it made sense to Skye. No wonder she couldn't find Mrs Burch: she was standing right in front of her.

"_You're Mrs Burch."_

"_Oh, you have done your research. Yes, that was my name when I was previously married. When I was let go by Ryan's father, my husband decided he could do better with another woman and left. I then returned to my maiden name. I took the job here for money while I created my virus. I met Dennis while I was here, and he agreed to help me."_

'Wow, that woman is a piece of work.' Thought Skye. 'Yes she had a tough time but this is going to extremes.'

"_You were the one who attacked Skye?"_ Questioned Ward, sounding angry. He had been quiet while the exchange had been taking place. Skye hoped he was thinking of a way to get them out of here.

"_No. I let Dennis here do that. There was a chance I might be spotted. I always thought there was something strange the way the flat was let out all of a sudden. So I decided to have a look around. Unfortunately she came back so we resorted to a secondary plan. You never even blinked when I told you there must have been a break in. When she was unconscious I noticed the wound on her stomach. I know a gunshot wound when I see one. After that I kept a closer eye on you. I have to admit I planted the bomb in your car. I still wasn't sure about you so it was better to be safe than sorry. I still don't know how you escaped. But I can figure that out later."_

Skye watched as the woman turned her attention back to her phone leaving Dennis to keep an eye on them. She could feel Ward tense up beneath her as the conversation had continued. He was probably beating himself up for not noticing what has happening earlier. She expected him to calm down once he got his anger under control. Instead he seemed to get tenser and stretched his upper body higher. What was he doing? He shifted slightly so Skye was pressed more firmly up against his back. She could feel all the muscles in his back and wait? What was that?

Under the pretence of pressing her face into his back she quickly glanced down at the waistband of Ward's trousers. There, with his shirt pulled taught against his body, it was possible to see the outline of a gun. Of course he had another one on him.

Skye quickly glanced at the two holding them captive. She didn't want to put Ryan at risk. Mrs Morse was still messing on her phone but she had knocked Ryan's chair slightly so he would be out of any line of fire. Dennis was still pointing the gun at them, but his attention was more on Ward than her. Slowly she slipped her hand behind Ward's back and eased the gun out of his waistband. She had only one shot to get this right. She hoped she had finally learned the difference between the safety release and magazine release. Taking a deep breath she shifted so she had a clear shot and fired at Dennis.

Unfortunately, he chose the second she fired to shift slightly, causing the shot to miss him by inches. That was when chaos began. Ward turned as soon as the shot was fired, grabbing Skye and shoving her behind one set of shelves before diving behind the other set. Mrs Morse turned and began firing at where they had previously been stood. Skye didn't dare try and fire back at them, as she didn't know where they had gone. Plus she really didn't want to get shot again. She glanced over at Ward, considering throwing the gun to him, as he was a much better shot when she saw him lifting up his trouser leg. What was he doing?

She watched as pulled out a smaller gun he had hidden strapped to his ankle. How many guns did that man hide on his body? She watched as he readied himself. Glancing over at her he used hand signals to indicate that she should stay hidden. He then quickly darted out and fired two shots. Silence fell.

Skye waited for a few seconds before she risked peaking around the shelf. Ward was stood over the unconscious bodies of Dennis and Mrs Morse. He had hit both of them with the ICER, taking them down. While he was restraining them in case the effects of the ICER wore off quickly, she grabbed the phone Mrs Morse had dropped and headed over to Ryan. She quickly called for an ambulance as she checked his pulse. It was weak but still there. After ensuring medical help was on the way she called Coulson to tell him what had happened.

* * *

There had been a flurry of activity as the team and paramedics arrived at the same time. Ryan was quickly carried off to hospital to be checked, leaving the team to deal with their prisoners. Coulson was overseeing their transfer into police custody while May dealt with the school. They all agreed to meet up at Ward's house for food and to share what had happened.

Two hours later they were all full of pizza and had been told about what happened down in the basement.

"_Well done you two. You saved Ryan's life. He is expected to make a full recovery according to the doctors. I found out how he was lured down to the basement. Apparently the principal called him and ordered Ryan to follow him." _Explained Coulson.

"_I'm glad he is going to be alright. Did we ever find out why he was acting suspiciously?" _Asked Skye.

Coulson laughed, surprising the team.

"_Yeah we did. Apparently he was doing some investigating of his own: he was curious about your relationship." _He laughed looking at Skye and Ward.

"_I guess you two were convincing then." _Laughed Fitz.

"_Evidently." _Skye replied, trying not to look too guilty.

"_Why were you carrying so many guns?" _Jemma had been wondering about that since she was told what happened.

"_I like to be prepared." _Replied Ward with a straight face.

"_Yeah, cause you can never have too many guns." _Teased Skye.

"_Anyway, it was a job well done. Now, everyone back to your homes. We all need to pack up as I'm expecting everyone back on the bus by tomorrow afternoon."_ Coulson dragged the conversation back to the original topic.

Skye watched as everyone packed up and headed out. She was going to miss this place. She loved living on the bus but it was nice living somewhere with a bit more privacy. You tended to live on top of each other on the bus. She turned and saw Ward looking at her. It was almost as if he could read her mind and felt the same way.

"_So how many guns do you have hidden on you?" _She queried more to break the tension than actual curiosity.

"_A few." _He replied moving closer to her.

"_That's not very specific. But there are only so many places you can hide them I suppose."_

"_Why don't you find out?" _he invited.

Skye looked at him and began scanning his body. That she could do. Once they left this place they would be back with the team, who could walk in on them at any moment. Why not have some fun while they could? With a grin she moved towards him and pulled off his shirt so she could begin to search his body for weapons.

* * *

So here is the final chapter of this part of undercover. I will be posting more chapters to this with a new mission. The next mission will include a few new people. Let me know if there is somewhere you want the team to go undercover. However it will be a little bit long until I update with it as I need to plan out the story and I have exams soon. Sorry. Hope you like this anyway. Thank you for all the reviews and comments.


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